Monday 10 / February / 2025
St. Denis: France have no plans to ditch goalkeeper Hugo Lloris despite his blunder against Sweden in Friday's World Cup qualifier, manager Didier Deschamps said ahead of their friendly against England.
France looked to be heading for a draw against their Group A rivals but Lloris's stoppage-time rush of blood to the head saw the hosts snatch a goal deep into stoppage time to win 2-1.
The 30-year-old keeper looked to have the situation under control as he took possession of the ball in his own half, but Sweden substitute Sebastian Larsson made a lung-busting run to put him under pressure.
After pushing Lloris wide, Larsson eventually forced a poor clearance, which Ola Toivonen gleefully sent flying over Lloris's head into the empty French net from the halfway line to put Sweden joint top of the group on 13 points with France.
Deschamps said Lloris would not only start against England later on Tuesday but he would remain captain.
"He will play, definitely. Lloris will captain," he told reporters.
"If he'd seen things differently, I might have changed my decision, but we both thought it was the best thing for him to do. It was clear.
"We want him to go back on the pitch."
Defender Raphael Varane also refused to criticize Lloris.
"We all make mistakes," Varane added. "He will continue saving us in other games and we don't have to cry over spilt milk. The team has total confidence in him."
